My plate was inspired by a four and a half mile walk in the park with hubby. Although I ate breakfast, two hours before, around the half-way mark, I was starving. You know, my stomach was grumbling and growling. That’s when I dreamt up this dish. For real!

Right after leaving the park, I drove to Sprouts and anxiously picked up the ingredients.

There’s a false belief that Vegans or other healthy eating folks don’t appreciate or fancy savory food, but it’s quite the opposite. When you stop eating packaged and manufactured food and change to a plant-based diet, a positive but unexpected change occurs.

First, your relationship with food changes. Everyone’s experience isn’t the same but, from the conversations that I’ve had with other vegans and the likes, the results are common.

When you eat mindfully (not distracted but focusing on the food), your sense of taste is heightened. My passion for food is no different from back in the day when I got down with jerk chicken and BBQ ribs. Now, when I have a delightful meal, it’s like fireworks on my tongue! The mix of flavor is more delicious than ever.

Today my palate prefers different flavors. This post was supposed to be short because my goal is to share my dish not convince you to become vegan. Lol! Anyways, I hope my lunch inspires you to try this delicious and nutritious meal.

Ingredients

Ezekiel bread is flowerless, sprouted whole grain bread. A half muffin contains: 90 calories, 1gm fat, 85mg sodium, 90mg potassium, 15g carbs, 1g sugar, and 5g protein.

My plate

Servings (X) times two (2) = 180 cal, 2gm fat, 170mg sodium, 180mg potassium, 30g carbs, 2g sugar, and 10g protein

Avocados are a healthy source of fat.  One medium avocado (6 oz.) contains: 160 total calories, 15g of fat, 14mg sodium, 0 cholesterol, 9g fiber, 1g sugar, 17g carbs., and 2g protein

My Plate

160 total calories, 15g  fat, 14mg sodium, 9g fiber, 1g sugar, 17g carbs., and 2g protein

One small tomato contains approximately: 22 calories, 0 fat, 6mg sodium, 0 cholesterol, 5g carbs, 1g fiber, 3g sugar,  1g protein

My Plate

22 calories, 6mg sodium, 5g carbs, 1g fiber, 1g sugar, 1g protein

Vegan Mayo

The jar of “Vegenaise” belongs to my daughter. The unopened jar has been sitting in the refrigerator for a few weeks, so I thought, “why not,” and joyfully cracked open the jar.

My Plate

The serving size is one tbsp, I used one tsp.  My serving (about half) contains approximately: 40 calories, 4.5g fat, 37.5g sodium, 0 carbs, 0 sugar, and 0 protein

Two cups of uncooked baby leaf spinach contains: 24 calories, 0 fat, 65mg sodium, 3g carbs, 1g sugar, 2g of protein

My Plate

One cup: 12.5 calories, 32.5g sodium, 1.5 carbs, .05g sugar, 1g protein

I could not find the nutritional information for the salad blend (broccoli, clover & radish sprouts), so I’m using a similar one.

A serving size of Alfalfa Sprouts (about 33g) contains, 8 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 2mg, sodium 1g carbs 0 sugar, 1g protein

My Plate

About half the serving size: 16.5g, 4 calories, 1mg sodium, 0.5 carb, .05g protein

I grew up eating spicy foods and that has not changed. Adding Jalapeño peppers gives the sandwich a nice zing.

Serving size, about 1/4 cup contains: 5 calories, 0 fat, 0 cholesterol, 380mg sodium, 1g carb, 0 sugar, 0 protein

My Plate

Less than 1/2 of cup, but I will calculate as half.  2.5 calories, 190mg sodium, 0.5g carbs

Fresh Blackberries

One cup of blackberries contains, 97 calories, 1g fat, 2mg sodium, 0 cholesterol, 24g carbs, 8g fiber, 16g sugar, 2g protein.

My Plate

Half cup of blackberries: 49 calories, 0.5g fat, 1mg sodium, 12g carbs, 4g fiber, 8g sugar, 1g protein

You can add whatever fruit you prefer. I like colorful plates, so I chose these beauties.

One cup of uncooked & rinsed garbanzo beans (chick peas) contains: 269 calories, 4.25g fat, 11g sodium, 0 cholesterol, 45g carbs, 12g fiber, 8 g sugar, 15g protein

I wanted more protein so I added some of my leftover roasted beans. Oh and I also added a generous serving of fresh black pepper over the contents of the sandwich.

My Complete Plate!

Nutritional Totals

Calories:  754
Total Fat:  26g
Cholesterol:  0
Sodium: 462g 😦
Fiber:  32g
Carbs:  113.5
Sugar: 24.5g
Protein: 30.5g

The only time I count calories is when I am preparing for a show, other than that, they don’t mean much to me. If you are pre-diabetic and watch your carbs and sugar, know what your daily allowances are and adjust.

For example, the garbanzo beans and Ezekiel English Muffin are the two highest carbs ingredients. You could eat only one slice of muffin and swap out the beans for something different. It depends on you. No two human bodies are the same, so your needs will vary. Avoid the cookie cutter approach to eating or any other program.

Also, 24g of sugar is a little high for me; however, since I consume little sugar throughout the day, this is okay for today. If I wanted to reduce the sugar, maybe I would swap out the blackberries for blueberries

Over 50% of the fat in this meal is from the avocado. Consider Avocado’s as healthy fat. Usually, I try to spread out consumption throughout the day, but today I was starving and ate the whole avocado in one sitting.

The sodium, for me, is a little high, so the next time I fix this (tomorrow), I will swap out the jarred Jalapeno peppers (belonging to my daughter), which I don’t usually eat, and add the fresh peppers that I already have.

The purpose of this post is to demonstrate how quick and easy you can put together a healthy meal. I hope to have inspired you to try my plate or a modified version you create.